Sand-ramming machine.



H. .1?. MACDONALD. SAND RA'MMING MACHINE. APPLI'oATIaN FILED MAR. 25, 190s.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

3 SHBETS-SHEBT 1K. A

C ATTORNEWn 1 H. P. MACDONALD. SAND RAMMING MACHINE. APPLICATION rILBD MAR. 25, 190s.

l .Patented Nov. 23,1909. 4

a sums-snm a.

/JATTQRNEM H. P. MACDONALD. SAND E AMMING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED M AR. z5. 1908.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' a'jficrtizen oftheUnited States, residingat To qlltohomitmayconcem: l

T @inni-CE.

HAEEP. M'Aoh'oNALn, or MoNrcEAraNEW JERsEr, Ass'iGNoE To sNEaD ,& com

PANYUIRON WoEK's,. oF JEESEY err?, vNEW JERSEY, A 4ooRPoEA'iIoN or NEW.

VaEESEY. I.

vv... M

Beit knwn'thatg, HARRY PL'MA nomino,

Montclair-,dn theoounty of.-Es`se'x and b tate of NeW'Jersey, vhave invented certainlfne'w and useful Improvements inSand-Ramniing Machines, of which the following isa speci,-

Presen; methods-'of -rannni'ng the I'sand in ii'a-sks-to 4forni greensandmolds are open to .manywobjections The generally practiced nietwliodfof hand ran'nning is costly and ofteny requires highly skilled labor, andv many molds made by it ,are defective because `of',y

the being rammed too hard or too soft, causing `blow holes, straining, etc. Power squeezers are vexpensive and ofrflimited '-ap;

plication, andinoldsmade by them are often lost owing to the air in t-he sand being coni pressed lend tlien suddenly released causing drops 7. and torn.- edges. Jai-ring machines varealso expensive "and .costly to maintain,

destroy'molds. on 'neighboring' floors through thev excessive vibrations they set up.l f f 4 .1.

Tv i, overcome the obj eotionsincident t'o the 4methods oframming abovereferred to, l

havenevised a' mechanism comprising a rolleigby means of'whichlt-he msspf saiidis subjected to pressure progressively applied frono'n'e en'd of the flask' to the other,;such

pressure being uniform throug'lioutand with ,no possibilityof injury to the mold or to the pattern. Combined 4with the roller is. av strike-off' placed in advance of the roller and which may bev of `Varyingcontour to level the sandin suchmanner that by leaving more or `less s'and at certain points it may be rammed lia'rd" o r soft" by the roller as` may be relquired. I have also proyided'means for the automatic controljof the rollerin its travell backandl'fortli, and other features to .faciliy.tatetlie ra'pidltyof inakingmolds ina man- `-lier notheretoforepossible, all of which will. be understood j from y'the following",'descrip-. tion;y akenin connection with' the accom` i'gure lv isha longitudinal l e lplane of theliiie 45 -'-5l of SADTEAMMIQMACHINE n Vertical section4 'oh'. the. 'planeet the line v1 1 of. Fig., 2 Fig'. 2. l if() with the 'motor and `someof ,y vSipeeireatioxiof Letters Patent.; .Patented NOV. 2.3, 1909- eppncati' ined March z5, 190s. seriarNo. 423,167. i

of a portion .of amodi terns, the term ybeing employed-by me to' include either the cope .or drag ofia twopart ask. kFor the purpose of rainming the sand I have adopted a roller, described more.

back and forth over the flask von an open `ended track frame ,This frame,;1n the members of which are in alineinentand in adapted to run,` these side members being secured togetherv by cross-bars 3.' The v side uprights 5 and .the Wall G, thelatter haring anopening. therein through which the rolle"r may pass. The .movable section of the frame is adapted to rest-'upon the flask and in order to prevent the sand from vbeing pushed or swept over the side o f the flask, the members or rails 7 are inthe form of angle irons, and the distance between them equal to that between the side walls of the tlaskso that the upright legs of the rails shall be in the same vertical planes-as the side walls of the flask, as indicatedin Fig. (3. The-sides `of the tiask are hanged as'at" l, the upper flanges serving as a bed to receive and support the movable section of the frame 2. In'praetice it is preferred that the filling and ramming of' -the Hasksfshall be done. ata designated'part` brought into position.

,rammed and for lowering it' for a fresh f iask, I pivotally connect the two parts of the a transverse section `on the' venientlyv elfected vattaching to the free plane of they line 6 6 of` Fig. 2.; `Eig. .-7 a longitudinal vertical section -on an enlarged `scale ,through tlieflask .showing the .roller 1n l a top f View of a modified roller and strike-oft; and

.effect constitute rails on which the roller is designates a flask consistinglof a fraineof v- Wood or iron to contain the sandand patvfully hereafter, which is caused to travel adaptation-of the 'invention shown, -oom'- prises .fixed and movable.sectionsythe side members or rails 4.- of the fixed.. section vmay be supported in `any suitable manner as by of'tliefoundry, the flasks being successively To rovide, there#v l i ,-fore,v`forjthe remoyal of the 'orward section .pf the traokrframe 2 after. a fiask has .been-`v `\V 4 frame through the adjoining rail sections at Sjso'that.thejforwardfor moyablesection may be swung upWard-- IThis lmay be coni 11,0.-

end of the movable section a rope or cable 9 which runs over suitablesheaves to a counterweight 10. v

It is to be understood that it is not of the essence ofmy invention that the movablesection ofthe track frame shall be pivoted tothe lixedf'section. These two sections may4 bel wholly independent of. each 'other inn which case f the forward section'f may be moved into and out of position-by a suitable crane`,xprovision being made forholding'the sections of A.the 'frame in fixed relation to each otherduring the 'ramming operation.

In either case the base or horizontal leg of the rails 7 will be provided witlipih .0,1 lugs 11 to guide the .iframe as itis loweredand to hold itin proper relation to the ask,'an l' also to prevent the 'frame being moved laterally when once lplaced in position.A

The ramming-is effected by means of a v roller 12 of suchwidth as to Vft snugly with- @afable end bearings 20 supported oni-the side,y

' binding against the track frame.

in the side wallsT'of the frame 2 to prevent the sand working its way up` between. the' ends of the roller'and the frame.' The roller` 12 is cast with trunnionfl which have bearings in the side membersof'a carriage 13.' Cast integral with therollerv; orjseparate therefrom and keyed tothe'roller trunnions are wheels 14 of such-.diameter that as they rest upon the track frame the roller 1'2 will,

not fall below the to of the flask; in other words,the relation yetween the wheels 14:'` roller 12, and the base 7 of the side memberd of the track frame should be such that the roller will ram the sand flush .with the top of the flask in order to avoid striking. ofl' the flask before clamping on a bottom boardrcr laying the flask on a level sand bed. This isiVl accomplished by makingv the difference'between the radii of the wheels lirand roller l2 equal tothe thickness of the horizontal leg of the angle rail 7.- However the wheels 14 may be formed they are separated from the roller by hubs 15 on the ends-of` the roller, the width-of said hubs being substan- -tially that of the thickness of the vertical leg of the side members ofthe track frame. Such construction is of particular advantage 1n that it prevents any lateral movement of the roller which-would tend to throw it olf the frame. lhe parts should, however, be so disposed as to provide suilicient clearance for the roller and wheels to travel without @To edect the travel f-the roller andl its reverse movement automatically I have devised the following. Secured to the center vof the carriage 13 and projecting rearwardlyy therefrom. is a hack which may be designated as a ram arm. 'This-rack, a detail of which .is shown in Fig. 8, comprises flanged side members 16 connected by studs 1'7 constitut- 4 ing the ,teeth of'th,r"jack. The rack engages a pinion 18 keyed on a lshaft 19 having suit- 1 News,

members'4 of the track frame. On the shaft i 19 'is also keyed a spur gear 21 which is ldriven by a suitable source of power, preferably an electric motor' 22, through a spur gear 23 on the motor shaft and an intermediate spur y-gear 24 and pinion 24r. The gears of thetrain just described are so proportioned as to reduce the speed of rotation of pinion -18 tel impart -a relatively slow movement tp, the ram arm. In the employ-` ment of an electric ,motor I-provide a suitable controller 25, the arm 26 of .whichis connected to a rod 27, .the latter having a .suitable handle 28l extending in proximity tol known type having provision for different Athe'sual position of the .molder near the flask. The controller-25 may be. of any speeds and for reversing the motor.

, order' that the attention'of the molder may not be given to the motor during the ramoperation, I havepro'videdfor the aug k;ton'aaticreversal and stoppage of the motor.

A'sgillustrated in Fig. 3, a movement of the controller Harm 26 to the ri ht will give a forward movementito the ro er 12 and such monement will 'continue until a dog 29 near the outer end -of the rack- 16 contacts, with a bent arm 30 depending from rod 27 which will ,'move the controller'rm 26 to reverse position.`

The roller f then-travel to its position until?. j"dog 31, consisting in this constructiow, f a channel iron forming part of v ,the carriage 13,' ntacts with lan arm 32 def pending from' -t `rod27. Therm 32 is' so placed/1. thatjvhen impinged `against bythe .dog 31 the controller arm 26.,will be moved :to stop position.,e In practice asin le travel "fsthe roller -foward dj-back to itsginltial -placed as to stop the roller, I'also provide buffers or stops 33 on the fixed section of the ltrack fra1ne, 4 and`similar devices 34 on the movable section of the frame to prevent the roller, which is ,of considerable wel ht,

' traveling to Aan 'extreme position in eit er direction which would endanrer the safety of the machine, should control5 of thel motor be lost through any unforeseen cause. As a further measure of safety, I place in the motor circuit a knife or other suitable formof switch 3 5 (see Fig. 1). which is held Vnor-` mally o en by a spring 36 and is adapted to be closed y a stop 37 secured tolthe cable 9.

`The 'stop 37 is so placed that when the movable section of the track .frame is lowered t operative position' itwill act 'to close the freine is raised, as indicated iii dotted lines,

cnitina'y he completely closedlonly Whci'ithe l v anism `above described@` have shown '1t in 'to permit of the removal of a flask, the stop SY-Jivill be lowered land spring will then act toopen the switch.wTl'iisifeatiire of. aswitchv is added in order thatthe motor cir# movable section' oir'l the track frame is in pcf.V

sition .to ierinit tliei'oller to pass over the` 'iclasl.r lta'voi'fls any damage tothe rnechaii-w. ism should the controller arin be moved'irom Y stop position beiorethe track traine is ready i@ receive are i-Oiie'r. .The motor 22 Wiiifbe providedwith a brake 38 whichV aidsto stop the roller before -it is reversed atY the end of its forward movement'.

Another essential feature offmy invention 4 is the strikeloi. `AS Shown 'in Figs' 6 and 7, this vconsists -of a .board 39 bolted to a cross-piece'secured to hangers 40, the latter l depending 4freinV channel irons 4l forinin part of: the carriage 13. The hangers l0 an irons alare slotted and the former are adjustableto varying heights by means of bolts andclainp nuts 42. Vlhen once ad. justed for a given pattern and size of aslr,

I `the strike-off will remainlizied for all molds "ofthe .samepattern The function of the strike-ott is to level the sanclftethe desired height inadvance of the roller. In practice the sand .will be thrown by the operator over the pattern until itfills tlieiask and. track o or' a triiie higher, 4thestrke-otf being' so .adjusted as to leave Ajust 'enoughsand in I4the ianie to exactly fill the` flask after raraA .I ming to the required ha'rfflness.` The strikeoft extends below the Vupper edgel of the side rio Y l sire meinbersoif the track frame and its length is substantially tliat'of the distance hetyveen said members,` beinglin this respect the same as roller l2, there being sufficient clearance to prevent binding.; The excess sand will,

therefore. he pushedv forward over the end of the tlaslc, as indicated inFig. 7,- andthe vroller immediately following will act to l" is given such protlle thatfthe sand 'will be higher ialong the sid-es yofthe laslt than in thecenter, `the eiiect heing to ram the sand harder along the sides of the Hash, 'inasmuch asthe roller in all cases is of such weightj vi1-sito compress the sand' ilushwitlr the tcpA 6f l-traveling advance ofthe roller 'is `of ad- 'off the hash. The'pr'ovsion "oa strike-vollt vantage in that the sand'v will" always. be struck -off to fr xed height.; Insteadljof having the strike-diff -in a"singlevertical44 vplane 'it maybe Vpointed forward as indi-j track frame instead of; being `the Ainside of the lliasli.

catedatiBQ in Fig. `9 so' as to act merecer l less as a plow in pushing-the sand.v

' AWhen vbars Vare ,usedf inH flasks (see-Fig.'

7)'1 prefer to-roiind or point their topsto prevent the sandpacking on toipyof tliebars 7o fonder` the compressioniof` the Aroller anclso'4 causinganimeven surfaces.' i y Initheassei blage of tlierammlng nicch-y conneetionp-,vvith a track- 'raine adapted .to 75 in lpractice.. When,l1pwever, the Work va.

. ries soj as tti-necessitate theiuse of asks of a dierentfheight tvvoy maiii'artszof the 8o irectly coni;v

nected together as; before described, are;` j

joined hy an vintr rncediate section .4 44 piv-l yotally` connected to eachpart to permit'fthef forward section, or 'that which restswupor 85 the flask,` to he lowered below or raised above ythe level of the fixed section. Insuchcase` in order to hold therack in mesh VWith-the 'l driving pinion 18 I ypivot a yoke 45.-;(see- Figs. L2. and .5), on the piniomg-shaft, 19.1

still y inaintained in Lmeslifvvith 'pinion' 18 as 95'- the roller passes 'overgthe linclined cOnnec-s 1 tion {il-soif lthe track frame, and as it travels over' the forward section i of said frame. `v`4 This; constructionA not only prevents disen--jl1v gagement of the rackranrl pinion :but-,it also prevents cramping of the mechanism Vas the roller travels over the inclined section. i

The operationv of the machine Will' be.; readily understood. from the foregoing dev scription. The flask to'be rammed .is placed105 in position over the pattern on a bottom l board or on a drop plate molding machine.

The `/forvvard or movable section of the track;

'rameis'then lowered until it rests directly.v

o n topv of 'the'.iask, being guidedinto posi- .119 tion cy the lugs lland held-by the latterso tl'iatthe inside of the franie isevenwith When the `track i'i-:iiiie is in position the' motorcircuit will he closed at the switch land o en yatthe 115., I.

controller The sand is then riddled. and' thrown in' over the pattern nntiliitfills ther flask Iand `fraineas high as the "hottoin'gof the strikeo' ora trifle higher. The-'operatoi* then, by a' movement or handle 128, throws 1h20 the 'controller arm 2 6 to forward" position, .fis the roller moves forward they strike-.oil precedes it and levels the safndto the desiredf. profile. When the. dog '29` strikes lthe ilev pendingarm 30 the 'controller arm"2 6 will 12.5 beA shifted to `reverse position andthe roller 2 4 will -travel in a reverse *directionuntil `brought to rest iii its-initialposition the'.

shifting-'of thej controller arm to Stop osi= It is preferred that the travel of the accumulating on the sides of the flask. In this provision of a track frame for the roller `renting upon the flask vthere is no esca 2L."`

the molder to shift the controller arm.- Upon the completion of the rammiri the movable section of the track frame is ifted and the attei'n drawn in the usual manner. The

ask isthen removed and another placed in position.' For the purpose of handling the flasks 4an over-.head crane 47 may be em ployed. The 'use of a roller to ram the sand is of advantage in that it enables perfect molds .to be made rapidly and cheaply. In the illustrated embodiment of my invention there is no possibility -of the roller falli ofi' the flask as it is confined laterally, or o its beingv net inm'otion before the frame is ready to receive it. The side members of the track frame also. confine the sand laterally and prevent its being pushed over or for the sand as it is acted upon. by the strike-off except inta forward-direction and n o escape laterally. after it has been leveled by t e |`strike-out. An unobstructed .bed is provided for t'liewheels 14 so that the roller 1s caused to c.pass over the flask at a uniform height an its fullwdvht is utilized to ram the 'sind iiush with die iop of the flask. 'rh-ese featureslare of advantage over the mere 1'un-,l

nii of the roller directly on the sidesof the f'las vas y'in such case, there' being no means to confine the sand laterally, the roller tends to crowd it over the sides of the flask where it accumulates, and by thus making a more orless uneven' bedfor the roller soft spots result. Additionally there would in such case be not to `prevent the roller from moving lateral y' and thus endangering the whole machine. I'According to my construction, the roller is always under complete control of the o 'rater and, should be negligent,I the ro er is prevented from run.-y ning so fai' forward as to fall off the end of the frame, or too'far back to the damage of.

, und over the flask and not struck off evenly the perilting mechanism.

When the sand is'. merely heaped up in to a fixed l wight different portions of the flask, and different flasks in du )licat/e work,

are i'an'iincd unequally. Sutri ing oif .by

-hand is expensive and slow and 'of little value unless the sand can be prevented from being pushed sidewise of the flask. According to my invention, however, the und can not escape laterally and the strike-0 5 insure! the same amount of sand being compressed finto leach flask and allows it tojbe rolled down exactly flush` with the top ofithe flask, thus avoiding the -necessity of striking of on a bttomboard or laying before clampi the desk on a evel sand bed.

able sections pivotall My inventionl lessens the time vrequired in .making molds and adds much to the safety 'I have placed the vlatter'iin a department separated from the molding department by a wall 6. The rod 27 is extended through an opening in the wall 6',in t0 the molding de- ,80 pertinent so that the motor 22 shall be at all times iindei' control of the melder and lie is enabled to start the motor without signaling or-withoiit leavinghis post. This, however, is a mere detail of foundry practice and` has nothingto do with the present invention. Instead of making the roller in a single piece, -or casting the roller and the Wheels together I may make the roller ofy separate disks as indicated at 47 in lFig. 9. -Sucli construction would provide for' narrowing the roller to'accomm'odate flasks ofvvar ing widths. -In -such'cfise the wheels 14 wi l be keyed to the roller shaft and separated from the roller proper by washers 48 servin -the 95 same pur ose as the hubs l5 before described.

What claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A machineof the character described comprising a roller for ramming the sand, a frame alon which said roller is adaptedto travel, said rame comprising fixed and movconnected together. and the latter adapte to rest upon the top ofa flask, anilmeans for raising and lowering said movable section out of and into sition.

2. A machine of the character descri comprisin a roller for ramming sa motor an with said roller to cause thelltter to travel v .overthe flask,- and'fmeans for automatically reversing the di'rectim of. travel 'of the roller upon the completion" of lits forward movement` ,or .to stop'the'roller.

3. A machine of the haracter described comprisi a 4roller forramming aand, .a motor an mechanism connectingthe same with said roller to'caiise the lat-ter to travely over a ask,'means for automaticall reversing the direction of travel of the ro ler upon the completion of 4its forward movement,

-and 'means vfor automatically stopping the roller 'upon 4reaching its initial position.

4. .LK-"machine of the character described comprising a roller for ramming the sand, a motor and a 'train of gears connected thereto, a` rack connected to said roller andi adapted to be actuated by said gears, and,l

means 'on said rack adapted. vto effect the re- .130

Liotmechanism connecting the saine'iic mil . completionof the forward movement ofthe .for closing said switch versal of said motorv or to stop lit upon the roller.

5. A machine of the character described -comprising'a roller for ramming the sand,

a motor and mechanism connecting the same with said rollerto cansethe latter to travel over a flask, a .controller 'for said motor,

Imeansjfor` automatically 'shifting the controller arm to reverse or stop position when the rollercompletesits forward movement,

and means for automatically shift-ing the controller arm to stop position when the roller reaches its normal or'initial position.l

6. 'A machine of the character described comprlsing a roller for rammlng the sand, an electric motor and mechanism connecting the same with said roller tol cause the latter to travel over a flask, a movable track frame to receive the roller, a normally open switch included in the motor circuit,- and4 means lwhen the frame is loweredover a flask. 1

' 7. A machine of the character described comprising a frame having fixed and movable sections, and an intermediate movable section, said sections' b`eing pivotally connected togetherl to permit of the outermovable' section being placed over a flask of any vdesired height for the purpose described.

v Witnesses:

l 8. A machine of thev character described comprising a frame having xed and movprevent the disengagement of 'said rack and pinion when the movable sections of `the frame are not in the same plane as that of the fixed section.

9. A machine of the character `described comprising a frame havin xed and movable sect-ions, an intermedlate movable section, said sections being pivotally connected together, a roller adapted to travel over said `frame, means for moving said rollercom prising a rack land pinion, anda yoke Iivoted on the pinion shaft and carrying ro 1ers bea'ringfon said rack to prevent the disengagement of the rack inion when the-movable sections of the rame are not in the same plane as that of the fixed section.

In testimony Whereofl have 'hereunto' 4 signed vmy name in the presence offtwo subscribing witnesses. HARRY P. MACDONALD.

CHARLES Si JONES, FRANK E. RAFFMAN. 

